Don’t you just love getting a whiff of that “new RV smell” whenever you open the door to your brand new house on wheels? We sure did!
But ever since learning that the new RV smell is really just the formaldehyde used in RV construction materials, it creeps me out. Short of gutting our RV and re-installing all eco-friendly materials, there’s not a lot we can do other than cooking the formaldehyde out and leaving windows open as much as possible.
Meanwhile, Jim and I take measures to live as healthy a life as possible to keep our immune systems strong and able to fight off toxins exposure. We’re on the road to even healthier living thanks to a book I recently won, courtesy of The Good Human, the web’s best resource for keeping you and the planet healthy.
The Healthy Home: Simple Truths to Protect Your Family from Hidden Household Dangers
I like to think I’m knowledgeable about living healthy. We eat semi-vegan, don’t use Teflon pans, stay away from toxic health and beauty products and make homemade cleaning products.
But The Healthy Home book is helping me understand many other risks I hardly think about, such as:
EMF Exposure: Electro Magnetic Frequencies (EMFs) are bombarding us more than ever and studies prove they increase a person’s risk of developing cancer. From cell phones to WiFi networks, humans are being exposed to more EMFs than at any other time in history. Now that we are at the 20-year mark of this technological advancement, cancers are starting to take hold.
So how do you decrease your exposure? Keep your wireless devices out of the bedroom and away from your head and turn off your WiFi when you’re offline.
Toxic Air: The air in our homes is more toxic than the air outside, thanks to all of the chemicals (especially in RV materials) and the toxins used in our daily lives. Consider that oil you burned in the pan last night at dinner, your bathroom air freshener and your cleaning products: they all emit toxins. You can neutralize your home’s toxic air by keeping the windows open as much as you comfortably can to release these deadly fumes from your home.
Kitchen Risks: From the dangers of using plastic to cover your food in the microwave to cooking the minerals out of your vegetables,The Healthy Home presented lots of ways to make a healthy kitchen like mine even healthier. For example, I had no idea that over-chopping vegetables could lead to a huge loss of vitamins and minerals.
While I don’t plan on gnawing on uncut carrots for dinner, I’ll try to keep vegetables and fruits as whole as possible before eating.
These are just a few tips packed inside this well-written, quick read book. Although the authors presented some crazy scare tactics I disagreed with (like how CFL blubs are so mercury-laden we should opt for incandescent bulbs instead), overall The Healthy Home is a great way to examine all aspects of your home and health habits so you can live longer, healthier lives.
Check out the Healthy Home website for some great free tips and then buy the book from us !
Another alternative to CFL bulbs are the LED lights. As far as I know they aren’t toxic like CFL bulbs are!
Yes! The book did mention these Kim. They’re just so pricey right now. I’d like to redo the RV with them but need to wait till prices come down a bit.
In FL we can’t keep the windows open as much as I’d like, so I opt for indoor plants instead. 🙂 The problem is you need a lot of plants to effectively filter the air.
The CFL bulbs thing piss me off to no end. Most people think they’re doing a great thing by replacing them (and they are) but when they eventually burn out they just toss them in the trash without a second thought…. :/
Indoor plants are a great idea! Wish I could take them on the road with us though.
I agree that disposing of the CFL bulbs is a huge issue. I think the authors should have emphasized safe disposal methods of them rather than just tell people to avoid them altogether, I thought that was pretty goofy.